The Mark of Manipulation
by Ferndane
Summary: What happens when Harry is manipulated by the greatest minipulator right from the beginning...Read to find out NO SLASH
1. Chapter 1

AN: Hello, this is my first fic so I hope it stands up with all the absolutely fantastic fics already up…..Please R&R

Chapter 1

October 1981

Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Supreme Mugwump etc...etc…sat quietly in his office. The war was going badly. He had just returned from the Longbottom mansion. Telling Augusta that her son and daughter-in-law would probably not recover their memories was difficult. And what of their son Neville? The young boy would grow up without parents.

But Voldemort spared his life. This was the question puzzling the headmaster that fateful October night.

He went to one of his many instruments scattered around his office. Checking the slow movement of the parts he inferred that the Fidelus around the Potter's was still active. They were still safe.

As he sat back down in his chair he thought of them. James was an Auror and one of the very best. He was personally involved in the capture of over half of the Death Eaters. Lily was an excellent Charms Master. Hiding from the Dark Lord prevented her participating in a job she loved. Experimental charm work is a dangerous occupation, but her calm attitude helped her remain cool in tense situations.

Then there was the boy. Harry James Potter was just over a year old. He was just learning to talk and walk.

The peace that was with the headmaster was suddenly interrupted by a screech from one silver instrument. He rose from his chair and went to look at the report. Known by only a few people, Dumbledore had magically linked his instruments to a quill which would give him instantaneous interpretations of his instrument.

He made his way to the quill and snatched the parchment from under it. What he saw written there made him turn white. He ran out of the office and out through the gates of Hogwarts. A faint pop of apparition was heard as he disappeared into the night.

In his office, the paper with the message slowly fell to the floor with the message clearly seen

'FIDELUS DOWN'

* * *

Dumbledore quietly slipped into the driveway of number 4 Pivet Drive. He noticed the cat sitting on the wall and called it to him. The severe looking woman next to him frowned

"Albus, what are you doing here? What happened to the Potters?" she said.

Dumbledore looked down and said "I'm sorry to inform you that both James and Lily have been killed by Voldemort only their son Harry survived"

The woman clutched at her chest and was breathing hard.

A low rumble preceded the arrival of a motorbike from the sky. The half giant riding it got off as gently as he could. Wrapped in his arms was a bundle of clothes the occasionally wiggled.

"Her' y'are professor Dumbledore sir, I got him here as quick as I cud"

Dumbledore smiled, remembering the prophesy, he thanked the giant and bade him to leave.

"Albus what are you doing? Is that little Harry Potter?"

"Yes it is, I'm leaving him at his closest relative's house so they can bring him up."

"But Albus, these people are the worst people you can find!!! They will never understand what is going on!!! They will never be able to explain our world." Said the woman through tears.

"I have no choice" Albus replied, "His godfather is missing and there is no one else to look after him. I do this for the greater good."

"Greater good of whom?? He-who-must-not-be-named is vanquished. Surely there are many families that are willing to take him."

"I'm not so sure Minerva. I think it's better to be safe than sorry. I've got it all planned out don't you worry."

"I refuse to allow this to happen. I'll stop you" she said

She pulled out her wand and levelled it at the headmaster, a curse on her lips.

But before she could even utter a word, she collapsed.

"Sorry I had to do that, it's all for the greater good…" he mumbled.

He ran the tip of his wand over the boy wrapped in blankets. He detected many gifts that the child possessed.

'Hmmm before this gets out of hand and control I'll have to curb it' he thought.

The wand tip glowed a light blue and the child fidgeted a little.

'Well that takes care of it.'

He carefully lay the child still wrapped in the cloth on the doorstep of the house.

Walking a few steps away he raise his wand and mumbled something in coherent.

The entire block around Pivet Drive began glowing as a dome shaped aura surrounded it.

It kept undulating as the headmaster added more and more of spells into the wards.

Once he was finished, he walked up to Minerva and pointed his wand at her.

'I can't have anyone meddling in my plan for the boy especially you'

Looking straight at her he said "Oblivate"

After inserting a different memory into the woman, he said "Enervate"

The woman blinked and slowly stood up.

"Albus what happened? All I remember is you coming up to me and telling me that James and Lily are dead."

He carefully led her away from the doorstep. " Yes they have died. But not in vain, Voldemort is gone. Harry will be delivered to his Lily's sister in the morning."

"Oh, Albus James…,Lily dead" and the tears began to flow for the second time (unknown to her )

"Yes but it will be ok all is taken care of" he replied

Both of them disappeared with a slight pop.

But Harry Potter did not wake, but he did have a new marking on his cheek which wasn't there 5 minutes ago.

AN: Well I hope someone liked it. Stay tuned for more.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

AN: Hello all. Thanks to Arkenstone007 (my first reviewer) and all others who reviewed and added my story to their favourites. Sorry for the late update but my life has been hell for the last few weeks. Hope you like this.

* * *

Harry Potter sat in the cupboard under the stairs. His eight year old self could not understand why he needed to be punished. Earlier that day in school he had been running from Dudley and his cronies across the schoolyard. Suddenly he felt a squeezing sensation and next thing he knew he was on the roof of the school.

Once he settled down on the roof he removed his handkerchief to wipe his face which was dripping with sweat. As he wiped the sweat away he glanced at the cloth and stared. The cloth was red in colour. He carefully touched his cheeks and felt wetness on his left one. His finger's were bloody ands he realised he was bleeding from that curious mark on his face. That scar along with the lightening bolt shaped scar on his forehead were the only remnants left of the car crash that had killed his parents. It was because of this accident that he had to live with the Durseley's.

The school had pulled Vernon from the office and Petunia from the house to retrieve Harry. The fire department was called and Harry was carefully rescued and deposited with his relatives in the principal's office. Mr. Wright was generally a nice person who very rarely got angry. But now he was fuming

"What I still don't understand is how this boy managed to reach the roof of the building? There are no pathways or staircases that lead to that particular roof" He almost screamed. "The school board has called a meeting to evaluate the safety of the school premises. If they are unsafe the school will be closed for the rest of the year so as to make it safe. This boy in one day has ruined the safe reputation of this school." He turned to Harry and said "Harry, your lucky I don't expel you for this"

"Don't worry about the boy" said uncle Vernon "he will be reprimanded appropriately"

"Well reprimand him as you see fit Mr. Durseley. But before you do please have a look at that nasty cut he has on his cheek. It was bleeding profusely when he was rescued. The rescuers managed to stop the bleeding but were unable to locate any breaks in the skin. It needs to be seen to."

"We will take him to our GP as soon as we can" replied Mr. Durseley tersely.

"Ok then you may leave Mr. Potter, please don't let me catch you doing something like that again." said Mr. Wright.

"Thank you sir' was the meek reply Harry gave as he left the office.

"Dudders" called Aunt Petunia "We're leaving"

"Coming Mum" called boy.

As they climbed into Mr. Durseley's car Dudley punched Harry in the arm.

"Owww" yelled Harry

"DON'T YOU YELL, BOY! YOU DESERVE A SMALL PUNCH AFTER ALL THE TROUBLE YOU HAVE CAUSED!"

"Sorry" said Harry softly

The car ride home to Pivet Drive was uneventful other than that uncle Vernon's face started to become purple slowly.

As soon as they entered the house Vernon barely managed to control himself as the said "Boy get to your cupboard'

And that was now 2 hours ago. Harry was too scared to even try to; leave the cupboard. The blood on his cheek had dried up and the cheek felt tight.

Then Vernon called out "Boy get in here"

Harry silently opened the door of his cupboard and walked into the kitchen where his uncle was sitting. He seemed to have calmed down a great deal.

"You stupid boy" He cried "You almost lost me a contract at work. Luckily I managed to postpone the meeting"

"I'm sorry Uncl……" Harry tried to say but was cut off by a yell from Vernon.

"SORRY DOSEN'T CUT IT BOY. YOU ARE GROUNDED FOR TWO MONTHS. AND ONLY ONE MEAL A DAY…AT SCHOOL. YOU ARE TP DO EXTRA CHORES WHEN YOU GET BACK. IS THAT CLEAR???"

"Yes Uncle Vernon" Harry replied

"Get to your cupboard. I don't want to hear a peep out of you tonight." Said Vernon

As Harry lay down on his thin mattress on the floor near the pile of what looked like rags but were actually his wardrobe, he thought "At least this cannot get any worse"


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

AN: thanks everyone who has reviewed.

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. I wish I did but I don't.

(Age approximately 9 years)

Harry sat in his cupboard dreading his next day at school.

When he came back form school that day, his aunt had literally cut him down.

"Your hair is such a mess!!" she screamed. "Come here boy."

She than proceeded to cut Harry's hair down to its bare minimum. The only thing that she refused to cut was a fringe that fell over his forehead. "That will cover up that hideous scar on your head. Nothing I can do about the one on your cheek so that will have to be as it is. Now start cutting those vegetables on the counter and you better be finished before Vernon gets back."

When Harry managed to sneak into the bathroom after dinner what he saw in the mirror left him speechless. His aunt had cut away all of his hair save the fringe. He was for all practical purposes bald.

Now sitting in his cupboard he was near tears. Tomorrow at school all his classmates were going to make fun of him even worse than they were doing now.

He lay down on his mattress and tried to sleep but images of the taunts and sneers he would get tomorrow kept him awake.

Eventually sleep overcame all these images and he drifted off to sleep with him curled in the foetal position lying on his left side.

Next morning he was awoken by Aunt Petunia. "Boy get in here and make tea. NOW!!"

Groggily he got out of bed and quickly changed. It was a struggle in that cramped area but somehow he managed it. He found an overly large cap which he promptly placed on his head. 'This will protect me for sometime' he thought feebly 'Well at least until I have to remove it before to class'

As he made his way to the kitchen, he felt a slight tightness on his left cheek. He went to the sink and splashed water on himself. As he rubbed the sleep from his eves he saw red coloured drops falling from his face. He knew what it was. His cheek scar had bled again last night.

Mournfully he put the kettle on and waited for it to whistle while Aunt Petunia bustled around the kitchen getting breakfast ready. Soon Uncle Vernon tramped down the stairs and sat himself at the table not even glancing at Harry. He picked up the papers and buried himself behind them.

While he waited for Dudley to pull his large arse of the bed and waddle downstairs he kept glancing at the watch, wishing it was later in the day so that at least the teasing would be over.

Dudley was as usual late and he had barely started breakfast before a loud honking came from the driveway.

"Dudders, Piers is here to drop you to school"

Even though they lived barely 3 minutes form the school Uncle Vernon encouraged this practice of wasting fuel. "Makes one feel important to go anywhere in cars." He pompously exclaimed at times.

Of course Harry never got to feel important. He always had to walk to school.

Dudley quickly gobbled enough food to satisfy world hunger in mere seconds, grabbed about a dozen scones off the rack and ran out to his friends car.

Harry slowly got up and got his bag and picked up his lunch (2 sandwiches of bread with microscopic slices of ham compared to Dudley's 8 sandwiches with what looked like half the pig between each slice) and walked to the front door.

"Remove that disgusting cap boy, our neighbours will think we have no money if you wear things like that"

"Yes Uncle Vernon" replied Harry in a soft voice as he removed his cap before leaving the house. He stuffed it in his bag fully intending to put it on outside.

His back was turned on his uncle and aunt as he left and missed the astonished expressions on his relatives faces.

As he entered his school he saw Dudley and his gang beating up another kid from his class. But they soon noticed Harry and left the other boy who quickly scampered off.

"Oye Dud, your cousin is here wearing a stupid hat" said Piers.

"Oh this is going to be fun!!" replied Dudley as he made his way to Harry.

"So Potter, what's with the stupid hat huh?" said Dudley

"None of your business Dudley just leave me alone." said Harry

"Oh no I won't" said Dudley and he turned to his friends. "My mum cut his hair last night. Right now his hair is extremely short and he has a stupid fringe in the front" said Dudley.

"Ok then Potter, off with the cap." said another of Dudley's friends reaching out to grab the cap.

Harry dodged him and ran into the school building. He knew he couldn't outrun them for long but if he just managed to get to his class he would be safe.

He luckily reached his class and his teacher Ms. Brown was there sitting at her desk.

He quickly found his seat and got ready for the first class.

The bell rang and the rest of his class entered.

"Ok students" said Ms. Brown "I'll just take the roll call before we begin"

After the roll, she looked at Harry who still had his cap on. "Mr. Potter, I would prefer if you remove that cap during class"

"Yes Ms Brown" replied Harry as he removed the cap. He waited for the rebuke and torment he would get.

But it never came. Puzzled Harry reached up and touched his head. What he felt there was unbelievable. It seemed that he still had a full head of hair despite knowing that almost all of it was cut away.

As soon as he got a chance Harry dashed off to the washroom and looked at himself in the mirror. He saw all his hair as it was before Aunt Petunia went mental with a scissors.

Later that day when he reached his relatives house, he carefully opened the door and snuck inside. However to his bad luck Aunt Petunia was waiting for him.

"You boy, what have you done? How did you get your hair back so quickly? Think yourself too smart by wearing a wig?" she shouted. She reached across grasped a lock

Harry's hair and gave a good tug. When it didn't come off she went pale.

"Get to your place boy, I need to talk to Vernon about what to do with you. I don't want to hear a peep from you until you're called got it?"

"Yes Aunt Petunia" replied Harry and went to his cupboard.

When Vernon got back from work he went straight into the kitchen and had a heated argument with Petunia.

Soon he called for harry in his booming voice.

Harry went to the kitchen. "You, Boy are a menace. I don't know how you did what you did today but this is the final straw!! You're not getting any food for a week and you're grounded for a year. Got it!!!!"

Harry nodded his assent and went to his cupboard. The tears fell like an overflowing river

'Why do things like this always happen to me???'He thought painfully.

Meanwhile in the Scottish highlands, Albus Dumbledore sat at his desk at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and went through some reports. Today he received a 'quillout' showing a large amount of magic was detected at Harry Potter's residence. But the quillout stated that the magic was stopped by the repressing spell he had put on the boy.

'Well at least the spell is working' he thought to himself.

The previous time he got a report like this was almost a year ago which detected an apparation trace. He dismissed that one as he didn't believe Harry was capable of apparating at 8 years old. He never even bothered to check.

'Well done Albus' he congratulated himself. 'All seems to be going according to plan'

'Yes' a mysterious voice replied 'The plan is working'


	4. AN

Sorry guys but my mum just expired after a prolonged illness….i need time to regroup and find some strength to carry on. I promise to finish this story but atleast for the next month or more it will be slow going. I am sorry about this.

Hopefully you will return to read the continuation of the mark of manipulation…


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